Businesses or other entities having a need for volume printing typically purchase a production printer. A production printer is a high-speed printer used for volume printing (e.g., one hundred pages per minute or more). The production printers are typically continuous-form printers that print on webs of print media that are stored on large rolls.
A production printer typically includes a localized print controller that controls the overall operation of the printing system, and a print engine (sometimes referred to as an “imaging engine” or as a “marking engine”). The print engine includes one or more printhead assemblies, with each assembly including a printhead controller and a printhead (or array of printheads). An individual printhead includes multiple tiny nozzles (e.g., 360 nozzles per printhead depending on resolution) that are operable to discharge ink as controlled by the printhead controller. A printhead array is formed from multiple printheads that are spaced in series across the width of the print media.
When in operation, the web of print media is quickly passed underneath the printhead arrays while the nozzles of the printheads discharge ink at intervals to form pixels on the web. Some types of media used in inkjet printers are better suited to absorb the ink, while other types are not. Thus, a radiant dryer may be installed downstream from the printer. The radiant dryer assists in drying the ink on the web after the web leaves the printer. A typical radiant dryer includes an array of lamps that emit light and heat. The light and heat from the lamps helps to dry the ink as the web passes through the dryer.
Even though a web of print media moves quickly through the dryer, a web still has a chance of scorching or burning when it travels through the dryer. This is because marked portions of the web, which are darker, will absorb more radiant infrared energy from the dryer than un-marked, blank portions of the web. When the marked portions absorb more radiant energy, they increase in temperature much faster than the blank portions, and this causes the increased fire risk. Furthermore, the uneven distribution of heat to the various portions of the web can cause permanent warping and distortion in the web itself, which is undesirable to users of the printing system.